Embassy Assault in Iran Dramatizes Internal Feud

By

Farnaz Fassihi And

Alistair MacDonald

November 30, 2011

Several hundred Iranian students on Tuesday stormed and ransacked the British Embassy compound in Tehran in response to new economic sanctions over the country's nuclear program, an attack stemming in part from the increasingly toxic fight for political control being played out between conservatives in the Islamic republic.

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A protester holds a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II taken from the British Embassy in Tehran Tuesday, when students shouted 'Death to Britain.'
Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

The raid, which drew expressions of outrage from Britain and concern from President Barack Obama, represented one of the most serious breaches between Iran and Britain in two decades and evoked memories of the takeover of the U.S. embassy in 1979. Images of hundreds of young bearded men climbing the embassy's walls, burning flags and shattering windows, screaming "Death to Britain," and ransacking offices were broadcast on Iranian news channels throughout the afternoon as authorities appeared to struggle with an appropriate response. Protesters briefly detained six non-Iranian embassy staffers, according to Iranian media reports.

Tuesday's attack was the latest outbreak of growing tension between supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and forces loyal to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as they jockey over which side best represents the ideals of the Islamic Revolution and can preserve the regime in the face of growing international pressure. Some parliamentarians backing Mr. Khamenei voiced support for the attack.

A day after the Iranian government expelled the British ambassador, anti-British demonstrators broke into the British Embassy compound into tehran as a row between the two countries escalates markedly. Jerry Seib has details on Lunch Break.

The tougher sanctions appeared to trigger a deep, long-running strain of anti-British sentiment in Iran. Messrs. Khamenei and Ahmadinejad didn't comment on Tuesday night, but Mr. Khamenei, in shooting down the prospect of negotiations and compromise over Iran's weapons programs, has singled out Britain in several recent speeches as Iran's worst enemy among Western countries.

"Britain has a history of humiliating nations, destroying cultural and civilization heritage and taking control of their resources," said Mr. Khamenei on Monday in a speech to naval commanders.

Prime Minister David Cameron, on Tuesday threatened Iran with "serious consequences" for failing to protect British staff. He chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Office Briefing Room, a meeting of the U.K.'s top political and security officials that is called in instances of crisis.

Britain's foreign secretary gives Tehran 48 hours to close its embassy in London after the U.K. embassy was stormed in Iran on Tuesday. (Video & photo: Reuters)

President Obama said on Tuesday that he is "deeply disturbed" by the protesters overrunning the embassy and that it indicated "the Iranian government is not taking its international obligations seriously." The U.S. doesn't have an embassy in Tehran.

The United Nations Security Council called on Iranian authorities to "respect fully their international obligations."

Iran's Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning the attacks and saying it was committed to securing the safety of embassies and diplomats.

Tuesday's events marked a serious escalation of Iran's confrontation with the West and a blow to the country's efforts to counter accusations its government isn't rational in the face of charges ranging from a military nuclear plan to terror plots and human-rights abuses, all of which Iran rejects.

British Embassy Under Attack

Protesters scuffled with police officers at the British Embassy in Tehran. Vahid Salemi/Associated Press

The attack came after the U.K. last week announced it would join the U.S. and Canada in coordinated sanctions against Iranian banks in a bid to cut off financing of its nuclear program. The U.K. has been one of the most vocal critics of Iran's nuclear program and its alleged sponsoring of regional terrorism.

It followed a massive explosion on Nov. 12 that rocked a Revolutionary Guard Corps military base outside of Bidganeh, about 25 miles from Tehran, killing and injuring dozens of people. Iranian authorities said it was an accident due to moving ammunition. Opposition websites reported that the explosion had occurred as long-range Shahab 3 missiles were being moved in a storage area.

And on Monday, the sound of an apparent large explosion was heard in Isfahan, where a major Iranian nuclear-research center is located, Iran's ISNA news agency reported.

The tougher sanctions, which will block Iran's entire banking sector from the U.K. financial system, also appeared to trigger a deep, long-running strain of anti-British sentiment in Iran.

Iran's parliamentary elections are coming up in March and politicians are vying for votes and support from Mr. Khamenei.

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Iranian protesters stormed the gates of the British Embassy compound in Tehran, where they damaged property and ransacked offices.
FarsNews/Getty Images

"There seems to be a rivalry among conservative politicians to say and act as revolutionary and radical as possible to please Mr. Khamenei," said Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a former Iranian lawmaker who is now a professor at the University of Massachusetts.

From the Archives

Tuesday's protesters, who belong to the student wing of the Basij militia, a volunteer force of Islamic government loyalists, said they had organized the protest days in advance, but said on Tuesday that the storming of the embassy was spontaneous.

"The takeover of the British Embassy has happened 32 years too late, we should have done this a long time ago. Any Iranian who loves his country should know today's action is in Iran's best interest," a statement from the students posted on the conservative semiofficial Fars News Agency said.

Several conservative lawmakers, including the parliament's head of foreign policy and security committee, endorsed the protests and praised the students' actions as "heroic" and "timely." Cleric and lawmaker Hamid Rasaee joined the protests outside the embassy, giving a pep talk to angry young men and women chanting "Death to Britain."

Live television footage from Iran's state broadcaster showed angry mobs climbing on a wall of the British Embassy building in downtown Tehran and two young men attempting to break the lock on the iron gate of the compound. Demonstrators took down the Union Jack flag and raised Iran's, Iranian news media reported. Protesters also ripped the royal coat of arms from the wall of the embassy and set fire to a diplomatic car in the embassy garden.

Iran-U.K. Relations

By late evening, security forces and antiriot police had secured the area and cleared the embassy premises of protesters. Iranian media reported that clashes broke out between protesters and the police when students entered the embassy for a third time and police used tear gas to disperse them. Official Iranian media reported several arrests.

U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said the embassy and a residential compound were "stormed by several hundred people," risking the safety of diplomats and their families and causing extensive damage to the buildings. Property was also taken from the residential compound, he added.

"The United Kingdom takes this irresponsible action extremely seriously," Mr. Hague said. "We hold the Iranian government responsible for its failure to take adequate measures to protect our embassy, as it is required to do." A British official said the Iranian government had known of the planned protest for some time.

Mr. Hague left Parliament during the government's budget statement, one of the key events in the parliamentary calendar, after he was notified of the attack. The U.K. called in Iran's London-based representatives to the Foreign Office and Mr. Hague said he called Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to "protest in the strongest term." Mr. Hague said Mr. Salehi apologized for the incident and promised action in response.

The U.K. also advised all its citizens in Iran to stay indoors and keep a low profile.

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Protesters enter the gate of the British Embassy in Tehran Tuesday.
Reuters

Iran's parliament voted on Sunday to downgrade its diplomatic relations with Britain to the level of a diplomatic attaché and evict the British ambassador from Tehran. On Tuesday, the parliament's decision was announced officially to Mr. Ahmadinejad, who must now order the foreign ministry to take action.

The U.K. and Iran have a long history of mutual antagonism that stretches back to Britain's days as a colonial power in the Middle East. More recently, the U.K. has backed the U.S.'s aggressive stance on Iran, earning itself the nickname "little Satan" to the U.S.'s "big Satan," among Iranian officials.

European Union foreign ministers will gather in Brussels Thursday and are expected to widen sanctions on close to 200 Iranians and companies and threaten wider measures, including a possible oil embargo proposed by France. The U.K. is likely to back these sanctions, particularly after Tuesday's events, a British official said.

Senior British officials fear that a nuclear Iran would trigger a nuclear-arms race in the Arab world as Saudi Arabia and even Egypt seek to catch up. Like the U.S., Britain has never ruled out backing military action against Iran in a bid to stop its nuclear program.

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